- Shabbir Suleman
The beautiful Valley of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has been subjected to the Indian brutalities for more than 70 years. The Indian security forces had illegally occupied the Valley since decades. The Kashmiris want their legitimate right to self-determination in accordance with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions. However, the Indian government always deceived the Kashmiris, and did not acknowledge its promise of plebiscite in the Occupied Valley. It is unfortunate to note that more than 90,000 Kashmiris have been martyred in the Valley since 1989 due to the Indian crackdowns and brutalities. The Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) has started a new covert strategy of targeting the young educated Kashmiris. The Indian forces brutally martyred Burhan Wani in 2016, after which anti-Indian unrest grew in the Valley. In 2018, the death toll included 260 freedom-fighters and 160 civilians. Recently, several PhD scholars have been martyred by the Indian troops. Similarly, the Indian security agencies have been using pellet-guns to disrupt the innocent indigenous Kashmiris protesting peacefully for their legal rights. As a result, more than 2000 the Kashmiris including children and women have been blinded.
A convoy of 78 vehicles carrying more than 2500 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) of the 76th Battalion on the Jammu Srinagar National Highway was attacked by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber at Lethpora in the Pulwama district of the J&K Valley on February 14, 2019. The attack resulted in the deaths of 40 CRPF personnel and the attacker. A 22-year old local Kashmiri from Kakapora named Adil Ahmad Dar was identified as the attacker. It is the deadliest terror attack on India’s state security personnel in Kashmir since 1989. Instantly, the Indian government blamed Pakistan for suicide bombing in Pulwama district. However, the Pakistani Foreign Office (FO) has strongly rejected the Indian claim, besides urging New Delhi to avoid such baseless knee-jerk reactions. In fact, India itself is responsible for the said attack and the Kashmiri uprisings. The Indian atrocities in the J&K Valley have forced the local Kashmiris to conduct retaliatory actions against Indian forces. India should realize that it must address the genuine demands of the Kashmiris in order to restore peace in the region.
It is significant to mention that former Commanding-in-Chief of the Indian Army’s Northern Command, Lt General D. S. Hooda stated that explosive used in the Pulwama attach were of local origin. According to him, it is impossible to bring such massive amounts of explosives by infiltrating the border. It clearly shows the security lapses of the Indian troops. India must focus on its internal breaches; rather than blaming others for its wrongdoings. The Indian government also failed to get any diplomatic support about the Pulwama attack. The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement which asks India to focus on its security without putting the blame on neighboring countries. Similarly, the Saudi Foreign Minister did not support the Indian stance of blaming Pakistan for the said attack during his interview to the Indian journalist.
The Pakistani PM Imran Khan while giving his statement on the television, warned the Indian authorities that the Pakistani security forces will retaliate massively if India takes any military action against it. Imran Khan called on the Indian government to provide evidence for supporting its claim of the Pakistani involvement in the incident. India must realize this fact that Pakistan is the mostly-affected country due to terrorism, and its security forces have been engaged to curb this menace. Pakistan is giving full attention to its socio-economic development as evident from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. The government of Pakistan is making comprehensive structural reforms to stabilize its economy. Moreover, it is notable that Pakistan has banned two charity organizations i.e. the Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) in order to root out extremism from the society.
Retrospectively, it is an open secret that the Indian RAW is actively involved in destabilizing Balochistan through violent activities. India has been instigating the Baloch Sub-Nationalists (BSNs) to resort to violent activities against the writ of Pakistani government. Recently, a US-based Baloch organization, the Balochistan National Congress’s (BNC) President Wahid Baloch while condemning the Pulwama attack, put the blame on Pakistan, and urged the Indian government to cut all the diplomatic ties with it. The BNC also suggested the Indian PM Narendra Modi to declare war against Pakistan. In a nutshell, it is clear that the BSN leaders are working on the Indian behest. However, it is good to know that the patriotic Baloch have realized the enemy-trap, and are aligning them with the national mainstream in order to reap the fruits of economic developments in their province.
